Decoration stamping machine



Sept. 30, 1952 G. E. RYCKMAN DECORATION STAMPING MACHINE 5 Sheets $heet 1 Filed June 21, 1950 Ifil] E-Ht-DI' E HYEKMHN G. E. RYCKMAN DECORATION STAMPING MACHINE Sgpt. 30, 1952 S Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 21, 1950 Inuntur' DEIDRE-IE2 E2. RYEKMFIN [7 WWW l l'tbclr'ne Sept. 30, 1952 c. E. RYCKMAN 2,612,106

DECORATION STAMPING MACHINE Filed June 21, 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 1111.1 ant. c: 1?

GEORGE E. RYEKM p 30, 1952 G. E, R'YCKMAN Q 2,612,106

DECORATION STAMPING MACHINE Filed June 21, 1950 5 Sheets$heet 4 Inu ant. Eli BEURGE E. RYEHN Ag Htburnegs G. E. RYCKMAN DECORATION STAMPING MACHINE Sept. 30, 1952 Filed June 21, 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 FIT El.

' Inuant-ur BEUHEIB E. RYE 1W Patented Sept. 30, 1952 DECORATION STAMPING MACHINE George E. Ryckman, Edgewood, Pa., assignor to Miller Pottery Engineering Company, Swissvale, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application June 21, 1950, Serial No. 169,356

4 Claims.

The invention relates to improvements in deccrating machines for chinaware, wall or floor tile, porcelain enamel work, name plates, etc. all of which shall generally be referred to herein as ware.

The object of the invention is to devise a machine incorporating a vertical reciprocal decoration stamping die, a horizontal surface for supporting the piece of ware to be stamped and positioned within the path of the outward movement of the die whereby the die impresses upon the piece, and a reciprocal finger contained within the die and provided to contact the face of the piece of ware to hold it in position prior to the impressment of the die upon the ware face.

A further object of the invention is to provide a smooth surface upon which the piece of ware rests whereby the piece is slidable thereon, and to also furnish a plurality of dogs arranged around and normally below the ware-supporting surface and equidistantly spaced from the center thereof, a mechanism being provided to move such dogs upwardly and inwardly simultaneously towards a piece of ware resting upon the surface, whereby the dogs engage the edge of the piece and slide it into alignment with the path of travel of the die prior to impressment of thedie upon the ware face.

A still further object of the invention is to furnish a mechanism for. moving the dogs and wherein a compression springis incorporated between the mechanism and the dog-carrying arms so that such spring provides 'a resilient snubber to prevent the dogs from exerting a breaking pressure upon the edge of the ware to be stamped;

such dog actuating mechanism being synchronview of the machine, the top portions, of the casings being broken away to disclose some of the mechanism; Fig. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken through the line 22, Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a horizontal cross-sectional view taken through the line 3 3, Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is an enlarged vertical view, partly in cross-section, .of

the dog mechanism wherein the dogs are in the retracted position before engaging a piece of chinaware resting upon the ware-supporting surface; Fig. 5 is a similar view to Fig. 1, showing the dogs in the ware-engaging position wherein'the ware is centered upon its surface and engaged by the reciprocal finger extending downwardly through the stamping die which is approaching the piece of ware; Fig. 6 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view through the stamping die and the vertical tube upon the lower end of which the die is carried, and showing the finger slidably contained within the tube together with a spring for urging the finger downwardly, the die and tube being at the upper end of the reciprocating stroke, and the ware-engaging dogs in theirretracted position; Fig. 7 is a similar view to Fig. 6, showing the tube and die descending, the dogs engaging the piece'of chinaware, and the, finger fully extended downwardly to engage the surface of the piece of chinaware; and Fig. 8 is a similar view to Figs. 6 and 7, showing the dogs retracted and the, die impressed upon the surface of the piece of chinaware.

The machine is designed to operate upon several pieces of ware at the same time, and as illustrat'ed, consists of a rotatable table 2 having three stations to handle three pieces of ware; each of which consists of a ware-supporting surface, a set of dogs and a reciprocal die positioned thereabove.

Each station comprises a flat portion 3 of the table surface 2 surrounded by four similar dogs 4 which move vertically and swing upwardly through four radially arranged slots 5 in the surface 2, a piece of chinaware 6, for example, being placed upon the surface 3 to be engaged by the dogs. A stamping die is positioned above each surface 3 and carried upon the lower end of a reciprocal tube 8.

The table 2 is secured to and positioned intermediately of the height of a central sleeve 9 journalled upon a stationary shaft ID around which the machine rotates. The shaft l0 extends upwardly from a base II. The sleeve 9 carries a gear I2 which mesheswith a pinion l 3 of a speed reducer M coupled by a driving belt IE to an electric motor It, as shown in Fig. 3. The upper end of the sleeve 9 carries a drum-shaped housing [1, and projects into the housing as shown in Fig. 2. The housing carries the three vertical tubes 8 which are equidistantly spaced apart and reciprocally contained withinslide bearings I81 and la in the upper and lower faces of the housing [1. From the foregoing description it Will b understood that the sleeve 9, table 2, dog assemblies, housing I! and die carrying tubes 8 rotate in unison about the stationary shaft l upon actuation of the driving motor I 6.

To obtain the desired reciprocating movement of the tubes 8 as the machine rotates, a stationary segmental cam plate 28 is mounted upon the top of the stationary shaft ID, the lower edge of the plate 'being of suitable convex-curvature to provide the desired reciprocation of the die carrying tubes 8.

Three radial arms 2| pivotally extend from lugs 22 upon the upper end of the sleeve 9, and are linked to collars 23 adjustably secured upon the tubes 8. The arms 2| ride against the-lower curved face of the cam 20 and are 'each-urged upwardly by a tension spring 24 contained-within a 241 as the tubes'fiand the table 2"rota'tef Referringto oneof the die and tube assemblies as shewn in Figs, 6 'to a, l the lower openend of thetube 8 contains a sleeve 25 which 'is'"th'readed ther eintoand carries a ball raceass'embly'fi upon its lower end. A the receiving h'ead'"2"l i'scarr'ie'd b theball race assemblyfzfi'to be freelyrotatable u on the end or the tube'fi "foreven'app ieetiehef' pigment to the die, as shall hereinafter'be'ex plainedL A ware stampinig ring shapeddie 28 is securedtO'the'diehead'ZTQ ware-engaging finger 29 is carried loosely within each sleeve 25 and is furnished with'e piston head 30 inthe vicinity'of i't'supp'e'r end to. retain the finger in sliding alignment Within tube 8. A spiral spring '3 l' is contajuied within the=ttibe above thefing'er head 30 and is inter"- po'sed between the he'adand 'a bushing 3 2"ca'rried within the'u'pper end'of the tube? 'ljhe spring urges the head 30 and finger 29'downwa'rdl'y; A chain or line"3 3' extends'downwardly"through the bushin'g3'2 and'the tube 8 and'isatta'chedfto the upper endbf the'fi'ng'er 291' A pulley 34jis car: ried upon a bracket upon'the upperend of'the tube 8,-and the line 31 passes thereover to be anchored to the top of a line tension" adjusting screw 36 threaded into the top face of the c'la'sing When the tube 8 and its die 28 is in the uppermos't'positionas' shown in Fig.6; the ten'sion'effectedupon the line'33 draws the finger'ZQ'upwardly'agains'tthe compression of the spring so that thetip 31 r the" fingerea is retracted *into thebe'nter'of the die.

As the" tube 8 commences its descent the downward movement of the line"ca'rryingpulley upon the to'piof" the tube willallow the finger "23 to descehd'-,"i1nder the compression infiue'riceof the "spring 3l;"at approximately twice the A of 'the"tube 8 and the die"28 ,"'whereby the-s eer 29 meves 'utward yfr om the die zaeh'd canteens the piece of" chinaware lightly before the die makes itsimpr ssion, so as to prevent "the piece from'bouncing on the table. During the'upw'ard stroke of the-tube the die linger willb'e're' tracted at approximately some the speed or the tube; so that when the tube-reaches the upper end 0 fthls stloke the tipflbfthe' n ger'z'a Willb withdrawn to a position above the" impressing f es of the die 28, as sho'wninFi'g'; '6. The base ll of the machine carries a suitably positioned segmental cam 38" having 'its"upper eedf cam face of convex form. This cam is furnished to operate the dog-actuating mechanisms which depend from the lower face of the rotatable table 2 and ride thereover.

Each of the dog mechanisms, as illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, comprises a spindle 39 which projects downwardly from the bottom of the table 2 and is concentrically arranged with the radial dog "slots 5"defining the surface upon which the piece of chinaware is placed. A sleeve 40 is slidably carried upon the lower end of the spindle 39 and furnished with a key screw 4| which projectsintoakeyw-ay 4| in the spindle, thus preventing the sleeve at from rotating upon the spindle and alsoilimi tihg the sliding movement of the-sleeve-upon the spindle. The lower end of the sleeve 48 carries a shoe 42 containing a roller 43=that rdnsesehrhe upper edge of the cam 38.

' or t linhs't r A dog-supporting spider 44 is slidably mounted upon the spindle 39 above the sleeve 40, and a spiral spring ,4}? slidably encircles the spindle 39 between then "erendofthe sleeve and the spiderfwhereby upward movement of the sleeve anhiporrthesemeie 9"pu's'hesthe spring ASand the spider '44 upwardly.

As wilhbe seen upon reference to Fig. 1, four dogs 4are'provided;andtherefore'the spider 45 contains rear-red a arms l'6,fa bout'the'ends of which tl 1e" do gs"''svvin"g':fie normal position of thedogs" "below surface 3 so that there will be nothing" to interier'e' with" sli'dingware onto or .W .Y-HJM', .1

h dog assembly consists of a bell crank lever 81 prvotecr'upor'iltlie outer end 'ofits' radial spider arm ilfianclhaving' a I-shaped slotted head to oiabolt'qll enemies through the dog 4 and the nSHehe-E ed-MB-rj By loosening the '"Anoutersleeve slidably surrounds the sleeve 48 "uponthelowerendbffthe spindle 39' and carries"four liigs'tofwhich the lower ends of four links 5| are pivotally attached; The upper ends 4 I e'pivotallyconnected to the lower endsofth'eblferankdoglevers 41. It will thus be appreciated that as the sleeve 50 is moved upwardlythe "corresponding -upward movement of the links 5! will wi'ngthelevers 4'! on the spider arms '56 'and "dogs" 4 inwardly. A spiral snubber-"spring 52"encircles' the sleeves 48 and 5llandis"iilteiposed'between the top ofthe shoe 42 and "shb 'de' l a ed on th s 59 beneath thelink'attachmentlugs;

"wh'enthe' j bf A ismo'ved upwardly through 5383 33? f it 'rb rfh'w' th the face of the"cam"3'8,ft fshoe lifwill push the sleeve en itchcontact ismade, the"up "with? df' d; levers a h nQWJprQjectabove the table, will rth jupwa r'd movement 'of the sleeve 'ssion [offthe spring '45 will to 'move'upwardly and the jto move towards the center supporting surface so that the erns ece .or hin As the sleeve 50 carrying the link 5| floats upon the spring 52 which urges the sleeve upwardly, it will be appreciated that upon any final closing movement of the dogs 4 after the dogs engage the edge of the chinaware piece 6 the spring 52 will further compress and thus prevent the dog from crushing the edge of the piece. As the table 2 continues its rotative movement and the roller 43 passes down the slope of the cam 38, the sleeves 40 and 50 will move downwardly under the compression of the spring 45 and the dogs 4 will swing downwardly and outwardly into the position shown in Fig. 4.

A rotatable chinaware-loading table 54 is ad jacently positioned to the rotating table 2 and at the same level. The table 54 is carried upon a spindle 55 rotatably journalled within a frame 56 attached to the frame i I The spindle 55 carries a sprocket wheel 5! which is connected by a chain 58 to a sprocket wheel 59 of the same size upon the sleeve 9, whereby the loading table 55 rotates in unison with the table 2 and at th same rate per minute.

The operation of the mechanism is quite simple. The operator takes his position adjacent to the rotating tables 54 and 2 and place a piece of chinaware upon a table surface 3 surrounded by dogs 4, while the table rotates in a clockwise direction, as shown in Fig. 1.. As the table rotates, the roller 43 upon the lower end of a dog assembly rotates on to the face ofthe cam 38 which causes the dogs 4 to move upwardly and inwardly within the slots 5 to engage the edge of the piece of chinaware. Itwill be appreciated that the dogs in movin inwardly simultaneously will, if the chinaware piece is off center, slide the piece to a central position wherein each of the dog engages the edge of the piece. Unless the ware is placed on surface 3 considerablyoff cen ter, the finger 29 will merely swing in sleeve as the ware is centered. While the foregoing piece-centering and doggripping operation is taking place, the tube 8 thereabove is moving downwardly from the position shown in Fig. 6 to the position shown in Fig. 7, under the influence of the cam 2s bearing against its arm 2|, and during which movement the finger 29 moves downwardly to engage the surface of the piece, as shown in Fig. 7. Immediately after the tip 3'! of the finger 29 engages the surface of the piece, the dog mechanism passes the peak of the cam 38. As the roller 43 travels down the inclined surface of the cam the dogs 4 swing away from the edge of the piece, the piece being then held in place by the finger 29. When the dogs 4 are retracted, as shown in Fig. 8, the tube 8 travels to its lowermost position wherein the die 28 is pressed against the piece, the arm 2| of the tube 8 being at the peak of the cam 20.

As the table 2 continues its rotation, the arm 2| rides upwardly upon the inclined trailing face of the cam and the tube 8 moves upwardly into the position shown in Fig. 6 wherein the finger 29 is retracted into the tube, thus permitting the stamped piece of chinaware to be removed by the operator. Since the die rises away from the ware before finger 29 starts to rise, the finger serves as a stripper that prevents the ware from following the die in case they tend to stick together. It will thus be understood that the piece of chinaware is gripped and centered by the dogs 5, held in its adjusted position by the finger 29 and impressed by the die 28 in one revolution of the table 2. As the table illustrated contains three stations, three arranged that the faces of the dies 28 come in contact with it as they pass over it. As the die heads 21 are freely rotatably carried upon the lower end assemblies of the tubes 8, the dies rotate as they come into inking contact with the pigment roller, thus substantially eliminating drag and assuring even application of pigment. The rollers of the pigment applying device are driven from the rotating sleeve 9 by a pinion 52 carried upon a journalled spindle 63 which also carries a sprocket wheel 64 connected by a chain 65 to a sprocket 66 upon a spindle '61 leading to the driving mechanism of the pigment applying rollers B l From the foregoing description it will be apparent that I have devised a very simple, easily adjustable, fast and positive machine for applying decorative designs to pieces of ware and which may be readily operated by unskilled labor. Although I have shown and described a particular embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that I may make such changes and alterations which I may deem necessary from time to time, without departing from the spirit of my invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a machine for stamping decorative designs on pieces of ware, a table having a smooth surface provided with a group of at least three slots radiating from a given center point on the table, a vertical spindle mounted below said center point, a spider slidably mounted on the spindle, upright levers pivotally mounted on the spider below said slots, dogs mounted on the upper ends of the levers at each slot, the upper ends of the dogs normally being disposed below said surface and equidistantly from said center point, a sleeve slidably mounted on the spindle below the spider, a coil spring encircling the spindle between the sleeve and spider, links connect ed at their opposite ends with the sleeve and the lower ends of said levers, means for raising the sleeve on the spindle to push the coil spring and spider upward thereon and thereby raise the dogs through said slots, and a stop on the spindle for limiting upward movement of the spider while the sleeve continues to rise and compresses the spring, whereby said links will swing the dogs inward to enable them to engage the edge of a piece of ware resting upon said surface and slide it into a central position thereon.

2. In a machine for stamping decorative designs on pieces of ware, a table having a smooth surface provided with a group of at least three slots radiating from a given center point on the table, a vertical spindle mounted below said center point, a spider slidably mounted on the spindle, upright levers pivotally mounted on the spider below said slots, dogs mounted on the upper ends of the levers at each slot, the upper ends of the dogs normally being disposed below said surface and equidistantly from said center point, a sleeve slidably mounted on the spindle below the spider, a coil spring encircling the spindle between the sleeve and spider, a shoe mounted on the lower end of the sleeve, a second sleeve slidably mounted on the first-mentioned sleeve, a second coil spring encircling the first sleeve and normally spacing h seeqeeslegre ree ...se sh e ri etefl connected at their opposite ends withthesecgnd e e and V t e lever sees .9 said e ers ,me e ,eeriq eefl theses? to rush th eleeies and) rinesensi,sp .d upwar 9n the sninqleend fie bvrei eih? oe t r u h said l t an e tq i Q1 t e spindl 9r l m tin 4 we m emeet 9 the s e Whil t e sle v eqeiim to ri an? 'e ep e th fi t s r n whe tebyse d li ak lwil l wie the 8 nwar 9 eebl lihem to .eese eih eq e .e a i q o we es n 1 1 9 e fl ii aee a d ide it i t a t al l ,0 thefeqeesi ie ie meqhie i9? eeqm n w ile es. -llexieph e .s r h ein -fi fiil ep u vhi h the we re ts s qo h sothata piece of wareis slidablethereon, a pluralitv of dogs arranged around the ware supportwe sui'face" andeduidistantly spaced fro'n' the center thereof, n eans for moving said dogsinwafdly'siinultaneously towards" a piece of ware resting upon the surface to engage the edge of the piece and'slide it'into s ends; position'upon the surface, a vertical spindl positioned-beneath tl'i'epieceo f war'' supporting surface, a spider sli'daloly mounted upon the spindle intermediately of its height, bell crank leverslpivotally mounted upon the'outer ends of the spider arms-the dogs being carried'up'on the upperends of said bell crank levers and projecting through slots in the ware piece supporting surface, a slidable sleeve carrieduppn the spindle below the spider, a spiral spring slidably encircling-the spindle and interposed between the sleeve and the spider, links extending from the sleeve to the lower ends of the bell crank levers, a stop for limiting-the upward movement of the spider, and means for raising the sleeve, spring,- spide'r, bell crank levers and dogs upwardly to the limit governed by the stop and for swinging the-bell crank levers and dogs within the slots to engage the edge of a piece of ware slidably resting upon the supporting surface.

4. A stamping machine for decoratingpieces of ware supported on a horizontal surface, wherein the surface upon which the Ware rests is smooth so that av piece of ware is slidalole, thereon, a pluralityof dOgS arranged around the ware support: ing surface and equidistantly spaced from the center thereof, means ior moving said dogs inwar -1y s mu taneously i wards a pie e of w e 8 rest ng 1 911 t eisuriw t ee es t ed e of he n eceands i le.it-int a cen ralpositiqn p thesuriace, a vertical spindlepositionedbeneath 5: 91 .9? 9 ,wfiltssuppqrtingsmf e, a sp r'sl ah rm unt u or he s indl m erme iat ly of itsheight, bell ,cranl; levers pivotally mounted upon the outer ends of the spiderarms, the dogs being carried upon the upper ends of said bell cranlglevers and projecting through slots in the ware piece supporting surface, a slidable sleeve carried upon'thespindlebelow the spider, a spiral spring slidably encircling the spindle and interposed between the sleeve and-the spider, linksextending Iron; the sleeve to the lower ends of the bell crank-levers, a stop for limiting theupward movement of the spider, a se cgnd sleeve carried by the spindleand encircled by the firstsleeve, a shoe carried-uponthebpttompf the second sleeve, a snubber compression spring-encircling-the sec ond sleeve-and interposed bet-ween the shoe and the bottom portion oi'the first s leeve,;and means for raising the sleeve, both springs, spider, bell crank 'levers and dogsupwarcllyto the limit governed by the stop and for swinging'the bell-crank levers and dogswithin the slots to engage the edge of a piecepf ware sl-idably resting upon the supporting surface.

' GEORGE RYCKMAN.

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